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HARRISBURG, Pa. A daily newspaper in Lancaster fired its courthouse reporter after he posted anonymous opinions on the public-forum portion of his paper's Web site, including comments critical of his own newspaper, the reporter said.

Justin Quinn said he was fired last month from the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, where he had spent more than six years. He declined to discuss the content of his postings or confirm the name under which he contributed to the paper's Talkback feature.

Editor Ray Shaw confirmed Quinn no longer worked at the newspaper but declined further comment regarding what he termed a personnel matter.

Quinn, 33, said he regretted the postings and apologized in a letter he sent to a company official.

He said he began posting to "set the record straight" about topics he covered but eventually began offering his opinions as well. News stories printed in Lancaster's three newspapers are often the topic of Talkback discussions.

"It is extremely hard to sit idly by when people are misstating facts," Quinn said. "They obviously have not read the article. It's just hard to sit there and take it."

Kelly McBride, an expert in journalism ethics at The Poynter Institute, said traditional guidelines designed to keep reporters from giving their opinions about subjects they cover apply equally to the Internet.

"If you express opinions that are critical of a public agency that you cover, and the public knows that you have expressed those opinions — not reported facts, but opinions — the members of the public have reason to doubt your ability to fairly cover that agency," she said.

In recent weeks an arts columnist for a free tabloid published by the St. Petersburg Times resigned after contributing to a Web site that mocked a local politician.

Also, the Los Angeles Times suspended a writer and discontinued his column and Web log after he posted under assumed names.